Highlights

  • It's common to prioritize optimizing the preferred weapon and playstyle when building a Rogue character in Diablo 4.
  • Dodge is a vital mechanic for Rogues in Diablo 4, providing mobility and escape options.
  • Consider sacrificing Ultimate skills in favor of crowd control or mobility skills to maximize effectiveness in endgame builds.

Diablo 4 was released to smashing success last year, but a mix of unresolved issues with its loot, endgame, and live-service approach quickly made its seasonal content fade into obscurity just a few weeks into every new season, which is still the case with Season of the Construct. Despite the bad, there are various reasons why one might want to check out Blizzard's latest action RPG, especially with the Valentine's Day sales on Battle.net bringing Diablo 4 and other games' prices down quite a lot. As often happens with live-service games, there are several unwritten rules of playing Diablo 4, and even more so in the case of specific classes, which all have their unique playstyles.

There are five classes in Diablo 4, and more may come with future expansions. While it's still unsure what the Vessel of Hatred expansion for Diablo 4 will bring, exactly, players can expect a new class as well as some big changes to the current roster - something that seasons already to with balance patches. Yet, the fundamental rules of playing a Rogue have so far been pretty much the same, even as players experiment with new builds and tools.

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Optimize The Preferred Weapon First Regardless of Diablo 4 Builds

Diablo 4 Rogues typically go hybrid, with some ranged attacks and some melee attacks if they want to optimize their damage and rotation. However, it's easier to focus on one playstyle between ranged and melee first, even if it means not picking the most optimal weapons, stats, and even skills. This holds especially true for the leveling process.

Dodge is a Rogue's Best Friend in Diablo 4

Diablo 4 Dodge Evade Guide Zoom Sorcerer

Diablo 4's Dodge mechanic is great because it's available class-wide, and every class then has other movement-related tools to use on top of it. Not all classes are able to do that because of the limited number of skills one can slot in the bar, though, and it can be hard for Rogues especially. Rogues have access to multiple mobility tools, such as Shadow Step, Concealment, and Dash, with the latter often being slotted in endgame builds, but otherwise, Dodge is a Rogue's best friend to get out of sticky situations.

Consider Giving Up Diablo 4's Ultimate Skills After Leveling

Diablo 4 Rogue Shooting Minions

A common problem Rogues face in Diablo 4's endgame is finding room for more skills on the skillbar, and while Ultimate skills are indeed quite powerful, especially in the case of an Imbuement-enhanced Rain of Arrows, they come at the cost of taking a precious slot. Combined with a relatively high cooldown, most Rogue endgame builds in Diablo 4 tend to be better off without an Ultimate skill in order to have more crowd control or mobility skills - and that can make the difference between life and death.

Prioritize Getting Diablo 4 Aspects For Damaging Skills and Resources

diablo-4-season-1-legendary-aspects-explained

Since Rogues are first and foremost glass cannons, it's important for players to prioritize getting every Diablo 4 Aspect they will be using for their builds as soon as possible, as they tend to dramatically increase the performance or value of given skills. For example, the Aspect for Penetrating Shot entirely alters the skill's functionality, effectively making it viable in endgame content and a great leveling tool as a whole. Likewise, resources can be a bit of a problem in Diablo 4, as not all builds and classes have enough from the get-go to use their desired skills and rotations every time this is needed, making Rogues dependent on Basic Skills.

Unlock Combo Points Early

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Another unwritten rule consists of unlocking Combo Points as early as possible, as they are the bread and butter of many Diablo 4 Rogue builds. With potentially endless resources to spend for a short time, Combo Points can single-handedly change the way Rogues are played and should thus be obtained soon in new playthroughs or seasons.